would recommend this one. the story is very interesting and the characters are well written, and i found that the idea was awesome. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Jemimah Wei's "The Original Daughter" is a beautifully crafted novel that explores the complexities of family, identity, and the journey of self-discovery. Wei masterfully portrays the relationships between sisters,and parents highlighting how love can be both a source of strength and a a place for animosity and competition.

The heart of the story lies in family relationships, and what it means to be a family. Wei paints a vivid picture of the dynamic between Gen and Arin, two sisters who are seemingly inseparable, but who have deep unspoken rivalries. It shows how even the strongest of bonds can be strained by envy and the constant need for validation.

"The Original Daughter" is a wonderful debut. The prose is beautiful, and the characters are expertly drawn. Reading this is an emotional journey for sure, but one you will not regret.

The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei is a compelling debut exploring family, betrayal, and identity, with strong prose and an engaging reverse-chronology structure.

The Original Daughter was 4.5 ⭐️ for me. It was a coming of age sort of book that was heartbreaking, yet moving story. I was encouraged with the writing style to take a front row seat into these two sister’s lives and experience their journey into adulthood. It was messy and real. It was also hard, painful and raw with an honesty that would not let me go. This author did a great job and I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Thanks Doubleday books via NetGalley.

Family is complicated, I enjoyed watching these two ladies grow and experience life. Highly recommend for those who want to see family change over time.

I devoured this yet wish I could've paced myself to savor the truly exquisite prose. This captivating novel explores so many things at once, yet manages to do it well. Breaking the generational curse, balancing stubborn ambition with guilt and resentment, the importance of family and forgiveness, all the complexities that come along with being a sister... all told through rich, multifaceted characters. I adored this. What a triumphant debut!

Sisters through circumstance, Genevieve and Arin are seemingly on similar paths and yet they end up in vastly different places. They love each other fiercely, but also hold resentment with the same ferocity. Status, whether it be academic or socioeconomic, came up a lot and the ambition to rise in status drove much of the plot. Their mother exemplified the loss of such status and her futile attempts to improve on it could have served as a cautionary tale, but instead it drove them to pursue more and more achievement. The exhaustion that comes with treading the status waters was palpable in Wei's prose. So was the cost of maintaining a pridefulness.

The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei is a compelling debut, exploring family, betrayal, and identity through the intertwined stories of Genevieve (Gen) and Arin. With themes of familial love, female relationships, and ambition, the novel has a lot to offer. Wei’s prose is excellent, and the pacing—especially the choice to start at the end and work backward—keeps the narrative engaging.

However, while the writing is strong, the execution feels uneven. The novel sets up emotionally charged family dynamics and complex relationships but lacks the cohesion and narrative punch to fully deliver on its potential. The biggest challenge is Gen herself. Unlikable protagonists can be effective, but here, it’s unclear why we should invest in her story. Her self-involvement and often callous behavior—toward classmates, friends, and even employers—go largely unexamined. The supporting characters feel underdeveloped, seemingly there to highlight Gen rather than offer their own depth, making her arc feel unbalanced.

There’s a lot to admire in this novel, and Wei’s talent is clear. But the story doesn’t land with the power I was hoping for. While I can’t say I loved it, I found it thought-provoking and see real promise in Wei’s work. I’ll be watching for what she does next.

The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei brings to life the story of two girls, Genevieve and Arin, and what constitutes a family in the face of betrayal. Themes of familial love, female relationships, friends vs. lovers, us vs. them, and winning at all costs are as present today as they were ages ago, allowing the reader to be connected and captivated with the characters and storyline in this fabulous literary debut novel. With excellent prose and an appreciated storytelling pace, Wei has masterfully invoked a wide range of emotions from one chapter to the next. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it highly.

This is a story about two girls in Singapore who were brought up as sisters. As children they are very close; as adults, not so much. Brought up to be strivers of excellence, it affects their relationship, until there is a rift. Beautifully written, with just the right amount of description, a fabulous amount of character development, and a ton of emotion, this book is a winner. And I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Original Daughter.

The premise was more intriguing than what I read.

First, the author writes well, there's no question but I'm not sure what the narrative is about.

Yes, it's about family and sisterhood and Gen's relationship with Arin, her sort of, not really sister, but is it?

The narrative read more like it was about Gen and her place in the family, her inability to understand herself.

Who is she? The adored only child of her parents until she wasn't?

An overachieving student who can only memorize facts and equations, but isn't as smart as she assumed she was?

Who is she in relation to Arin?

I don't think the author knows either.

Sometimes, the narrative read like a family drama, other times it was about sisterhood.

It was distracting and confusing, I don't know what the takeaway is supposed to be.

Gen wasn't a likable person, yet I didn't dislike her. She was dispassionate, disgruntled, unhappy; aren't we all in some way?

But is that her true nature or a result of how her and her family didn't turn out?

How is it Arin's fault?

Arin is an innocent in this domestic drama, the spawn of a scandal but not to blame for Gen's family's troubles and drama.

In the end, I cared neither for Gen or Arin and still couldn't figure out the point of the narrative. I really did want to like this.

I guess if it doesn't involve a murderer or a serial killer it's not for me.

I found this story to be a beautiful and compelling story of sisterhood and what happens when two relatives grow apart and end up in very different places in life. Both sisters were very compelling characters, and I especially appreciated the intricacies of their relationship and how it was easy to see why both of them acted the way they acted rather than making one of them good and one of them bad — it felt like much more of a grey area. At points it read like a memoir, which I really liked.

This is a tough review for me. I really wanted to like this book and found the premise unique and pleasant, but the main character was so not likeable it affected my final enjoyment. Willow is the center of the story line, which spans from her elementary age to adulthood, and she frequently asks herself very introspective questions about her family relationships, but she never seems to consider the answers, or her own part in those relationships. In the end, this results in frustration for the reader, with little gratification. The quality of the writing saved this one from the did-not-finish pile for me.

As Genevieve’s mother is dying, she asks Genevieve to reach out to Arin, Genevieve’s long-estranged sister. Arin, a half-sister once adopted by Genevieve’s parents, rose to become first a YouTube sensation and then one of Singapore’s most celebrated actors. Genevieve, a star student eventually hobbled by class disadvantages, failed to gain admittance to a good college and struggled to make it professionally, working in an ice cream shop while trying to hide her disappointment. However, when she finally finds a way to break free and go abroad, a betrayal from Arin shocks her to the core, and she cuts her sister off. Now, years later, she must come to terms with her hurt and her love–and discover whether she can forge a new future with Arin.

This novel is compelling, emotionally vivid, and alive with detail. The world of working class Singapore–and this family within it–came vibrantly alive, and I was carried by the story, finishing the novel in just a couple days. Very much worth a read!

I went into this under the impression that it would be a cozy tale of two sisters, but discovered a journey with significant depth and emotion. After reading, I felt like I just emerged from binging an entire series in my dark cave–still spellbound and melancholy. This is one of those heavily touching books I’ll be thinking about randomly a few years down the line.

The Original Daughter is an epic story of Genevieve and her family living in working-class Singapore. One day, family shenanigans bring Arin to their doorstep. Ultimately, Arin ends up joining the family as Gen’s new little sister. Over the years, we observe the evolution of this family and everyone’s relationships through Gen’s eyes.

The novel reinforces what it means to experience family/sisterhood, betrayal, grief, abandonment, pride/hubris/ambition/loyalty, culture, and trauma. How can a story be so severe in its themes while simultaneously interweaving them through such fluid prose? I was fascinated how Wei was able to shift voices with respect to the scene and the characters’ thoughts, like with Gen’s desperation and defeat. This is absolutely one reason why each character struck me as so relatable and authentic.

I’m incredibly grateful Jemimah Wei decided to share this gem of a debut with the world. Thank you Netgalley + Doubleday for the ARC!

There was a single question I kept asking myself throughout this: Does the author know her main character, Genevieve (Gen) sucks? Look, I get it, the human condition is complex. Being self-involved and rude is a side effect of youth. We don’t have to love our main characters. And sure, I can relate to holding a grudge (or several) - but oof Gen was hard to take.

Overall, you have a beautiful, emotional story. The pacing along with the author’s choice to begin at the end were smart choices and I flew through it quickly - but did I enjoy it? I’m not sure. The family dynamic from the jump is emotionally grueling. At the core it entails the eventual estrangement of two sisters, the eventual estrangement of their parents, and then eventually a dying mother. From there, we go back in time for the explanation.

Although I found the story engaging, I can’t review this without scratching my head about the choices made for Gen. Sure, without said choices there would be no story. In particular, I found her behavior towards her classmates, and later her friends and employers upsetting. They just took it on the chin and we moved on. It was as if the surrounding characters weren’t given a voice so our main character would appear more sympathetic. It did not work. To repeatedly showcase disgusting behavior from your main character without any promise of them learning from it was a gamble. So did I love it? I can’t say that I did, but I do think I found a new author to look out for. There’s a lot of promise here.

But seriously, does she hate Millennials?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I will acknowledge that it appears I am in the minority and perhaps this is one of those books that if I were to pick it up at a different time perhaps I would enjoy it more but this book just drags on and on and on to the point where I kept wondering if it was going to end.

Don't get me wrong there are definitely some places that were touching and heartfelt but boy it took a long time to get there. I thought I was going to like Gen the original daughter. But nope then she kind of just turns into this whining unhappy mean person. I just didn't connect with her at all. The father . . . I thought he would fight for his family . . . but he kind of just disappears into oblivion.

The paragraphs on my kindle were so long that sometimes it was three pages of one paragraph - this didn't help me in my reading as sometimes I just simply got lost.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jemimah Wei and DoubleDay Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my opinions.

This is a story about a search for a nurse who has gone missing while hiking the Appalachian Trail. A woman in the Maine Warden Service is leading the search that has become mysteriously difficult. While she knows she is list, Valerie spends time writing beautiful letters to her mother and commenting on the beauty of her surroundings. The mystery of her disappearance is solved by an online conversation that a woman residing in a nearby retirement community has been having with a young man who was involved in Valerie’s disappearance.

In "The Original Daughter", debut author Jemimah Wei weaves a deeply emotional story of familial love and betrayal set in Singapore at the cusp of the 21st century. Told from the first-person perspective of young Genevieve Yang, we're immediately pulled into her world as the sole child and daughter of a taxi driver father and a housewife aspiring for more in Bedok, Singapore. Her world is turned upside-down with the unexpected arrival of Arin, the youngest grandchild of her grandfather who disappeared in the midst of war; long believed dead, he had secretly grown a separate family in Malaysia.

As children, Genevieve and Arin grow closer as Jie (older sister) and Mei (younger sister); as Genevieve pursues her academics aggressively, Arin is at her side, watching and learning. But life takes a turn for Genevieve and the once-clear path she had for her future falls by the wayside as she struggles and begins to flail; yet, she watches in both envy and pride as her younger sister manages to accomplish what she couldn't. As Arin finds footholds of success, Genevieve struggles with her own life, eventually escaping to a small town in New Zealand in a half-baked attempt to start over. A stunning act of betrayal forces the two sisters apart, and Arin leaves to grow her career while Genevieve returns home to Singapore, whose ailing health forces Genevieve to make a crucial choice.

This novel was devastating, stunning, and so beautifully written. From the first few pages, I was immediately transfixed by Genevieve as a character; her personality is sharp, multi-faceted, and flawed - but also one we deeply empathize with. Her early successes are ones we cheer, and we can't help but share in her pain as she begins to struggle in school, fails to land a career, and combats her conflicting emotions as her younger sister achieves the things she could not. To call her a protagonist may be too generous, but while we can't condone all of her decisions, we can understand them. I was so incredibly impressed with Wei's writing, especially as this is her first published novel; her prose is complex, descriptive, yet also incredibly emotional - a style that is so hard to achieve by an author. I was just as easily transported to the dilapidated, one bedroom apartment in Bedok that Genevieve's family members lived in as I was to the small town of Christchurch, New Zealand that she escaped to as an adult.

Very much a recommended read when "The Original Daughter" is published in May 2025!

Original Daughter is one of those books that sneaks up on you—quiet, observant, and then suddenly, devastating. It follows Gwen, a Singaporean woman living in New York, trying to build a life that’s entirely her own, while the weight of her family’s expectations, sacrifices, and history clings to her like humidity in August. (If you know, you know.)

Wei’s writing is lush and immersive, making every scene feel so vivid—whether it’s the streets of Singapore or the cold, detached air of New York. But what really got me was the way she explores identity and belonging, especially in that space between cultures. Gwen is constantly navigating who she is in different places, in different relationships, and even in her own family. It’s frustrating, heartbreaking, and so, so real.

This book doesn’t rush. It takes its time unraveling Gwen’s world, her decisions (good and bad), and the complicated, sometimes painful love between mothers and daughters. If you like character-driven stories that make you feel something, you’ll probably love this. If you need a fast-paced plot… well, this isn’t that.